6 minute read
Pacesetters Support Hawai’i Wildfires Recovery Mission
from America's Engineers: The People, Programs, and Projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers '24-'25
In the face of adversity, remarkable individuals emerge, transforming despair into hope.
BY EDWARD RIVERA
SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION Pacesetters
Aug. 8, 2023, devastating wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui, becoming one of the most destructive natural disasters in the state’s history. Volunteers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Southwestern Division (SWD), known as “Pacesetters,” quickly responded, dedicating their time, skills, and determination to assist in the recovery efforts.
The fires ravaged the historic town of Lahaina, scorching about 2,170 acres and damaging or destroying more than 2,200 structures. The blaze left behind a trail of charred vehicles and triggered widespread evacuations. About 35 miles away in Kula and Olinda, the situation was similarly dire, with at least 544 structures at risk of destruction.
The fires resulted in significant loss of life and property, prompting responses from local, state, and federal agencies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requested USACE’s assistance to restore temporary power, conduct debris removal operations, and oversee the installation of an elementary school and temporary housing.
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Within four days of the wildfires, the first group of Pacesetters arrived in the affected area. Mission managers, mission specialists, and resident engineers began assessments, providing estimates to FEMA. Planning and Response Teams (PRTs) also began formulating resource requirements.
The majority of the SWD regional team, including four district offices in Fort Worth and Galveston, Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, supported Recovery Field Office (RFO) operations as well as the Debris and Critical Public Facility PRTs.
Before PRTs could begin working their missions, a base of operations was established, ensuring they had essential logistical support in place for successful operations. Little Rock District Logistics Chief Kylene Patton was the team lead for three deployments totaling 101 days. The RFO logistics team secured a centralized workspace to meet the daily challenges managing a supply chain that was timely and as responsive as possible, given its distance from the continental United States.
“It’s always a logistical challenge when supporting island disasters,” said Patton. “We had limited stores available to purchase needed supplies. Most items took longer than normal to arrive because they had to go through the Island of Oahu first.”
As FEMA’s construction agency, USACE assigned SWD’s Fort Worth District Debris PRT to lead a complex wildfire debris removal mission. They were tasked with clearing 400,000 to 700,000 tons of debris from Kula and Olinda in central Maui, and Lahaina in west Maui, once the heart of the Hawaiian kingdom.
Fort Worth District Commander Col. Calvin Kroeger said a critical aspect of the mission was addressing cultural sensitivities. “This mission is arguably the most complex USACE has undertaken in the past century, if not its entire 249-year history.”
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The debris mission involved several firsts. Instead of a single continuous process, it was split into two phases. Following the Environmental Protection Agency’s surveying, removal, and disposal of hazardous materials from properties, Phase 1 focused on removing household hazardous materials and conducting site assessments. Phase 2 covered the removal of all other fire-related debris.
“The level of attention given to cultural awareness and oversight was unlike any other mission to date,” said Fort Worth District Debris Mission Manager Vandi Mitchell, who deployed for 65 days. “It had never been so interwoven into every facet of debris removal efforts.”
Mitchell added trust did not come easy. Through diligent endeavors of mission leadership and individual collaborative efforts of those assigned in their dealings with government and tribal leaders, contractors, and the people directly, the federal family earned the trust of the people of Maui.
Crucial to the success of the debris removal mission was obtaining Rights-of-Entry (ROE) agreements needed to access properties for debris assessments and removal.
Sarah Noel, realty specialist from the Tulsa District, who deployed for 32 days, said once a property completed the debris removal process, the ROEs were sent to Maui County, allowing landowners to apply for building permits to begin the rebuilding process.
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The RFO reported, as of Aug. 6, 2024, 1,231 of 1,399 residential lots had been cleared of debris and their ROEs returned to the county.
As Lahaina residents were reeling from the disastrous wildfires, the keiki (children) faced an additional hardship: The King Kamehameha III Elementary School was damaged beyond repair. After receiving the FEMA critical public facilities (CPF) mission assignment, construction of a new temporary elementary school became a priority for the entire team.
“We were resolved to ensure the temporary facilities would be designed and erected quickly, with quality in the forefront,” said Elizabeth McCarty, CPF mission manager from Galveston District. She deployed for 96 days, and continued supporting via reach-back for 151 more days.
McCarty said USACE personnel and contractors developed a strong understanding of cooperation and teamwork. The challenges they faced of a 95-day timeline, the physical site composition, and weather delays, were overcome because of their belief in the project. “We completed a nearly impossible task in record time with no safety incidents because we were of one mind, focused on the keiki of Lahaina.”
The school, which expected about 350 students, can accommodate up to 600, if necessary. It consists of 30 air-conditioned modular classrooms, an administration building, a library, a student support center, a cafeteria, and play areas.
For McCarty, the fast completion of the school was personal. A former teacher, she witnessed first-hand loss and trauma students experienced during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. She understood students “clung to the normalcy and structure that school gave them in the middle of turmoil.”
In addition to PRTs, SWD volunteers filled various other positions, including battle captains, quality assurance, and external affairs specialists. To date, 245-plus Pacesetters deployed or provided reach-back support for more than 9,750 days.
“All the success in Maui is solely upon the individual volunteers who selflessly contribute to the mission,” said Kroeger. “Their efforts would not have been possible without the supervisors and employees who shouldered the workload in their absence. These warriors are a true testament of all the great things we do on a routine basis. The credit goes to the entire team of teams in Maui, matrixed across the entire USACE enterprise.” AE
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